Alien
by HiddenXEmotion
Summary: In Space No One Can Here You Scream. That was always a joke between Riley and Dallas, but who would have that that it would become true? After landing to find a distress beacon, an alien creature finds its way onto the ship and begins to kill the entire crew. Riley, Ripley, and Jack are left alone to find this creature, and make sure it doesn't return with them to Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter One_**

**_Nostromo_**

_Commercial Towing Vehicle 'The Nostromo'_

_Crew: Nine_

_Cargo: Refinery processing 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore_

_Course: Returning to Earth_

**It was time for them all to awaken. **As the Stasis beds open, each of the nine members of the Nostromo awoke, pulling them from their slumber. The first to awaken was Executive Officer Kane, followed by Engineers Jack, Brett, and Parker. Captain Dallas was next and then Science Officer Ash, Navigator Lambert, and the twin Warrant Officers Ripley and Riley. Eleanor and Anora were actually twins, but Anora went by Riley so the crew had a name to call her when they needed one of the sisters. After showers and clothes, the crew found themselves eating in the kitchen.

Ripley and Riley were identical to the very end with their dark eyes and their curly, black hair. The only thing really different between the sisters was that Ripley was married with a kid, while Riley was not.

Jack Rush, in fact, was Ripley's husband and was sitting beside them while they ate. Their daughter was on earth still, being looked after by her grandmothers. Jack was only a few years older than the twins, with sandy brown hair and blue eyes.

"Brett, you still with us over there?" Parker asked his partner.

The man took a sip of the coffee. "Right."

"I feel dead." Kane sighed.

"Yeah, you look it, too." Jack called to him, taking a drink from his own glass as he leaned back in his chair. His wife gave him a nudge in the side as she chuckled with the others.

"Oh, yeah, right. I forgot something, man," Parker began. "I just forgot something, man. Now before we dock…I think we ought to discuss the bonus situation."

"Oh dear," Riley hung her head as Jack closed his eyes.

"Brett and I think we deserve full shares."

"What about you, Jack?" the Captain, Dallas, looked at the other Engineer of the crew.

"Don't get me involved in this," the man held his hands up. "I have no problem with what I get."

"That's also because you're wife gets paid too." Parker hissed.

"Mr. Parker and I feel the bonus situation has never been on an equitable level." Brett told them.

Dallas sighed. "You'll get what you contracted for, like everybody else."

"Yes," Brett nodded as a buzzer began to go off. "But everybody else gets more than us."

"Dallas," Ash began as the others chuckled. "Mother wants to talk to you."

"Yeah," Dallas sighed. "I saw it. Yellow light's for my eyes only." He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "OK, get dressed, huh? Parker, let's go."  
"Can I finish my coffee?" the black man asked. "It's the only thing good on this ship."

Riley sighed and stood up. "Stop complaining about it and let's just get to work."

"Agreed." Ripley stood as well.

After they all got dressed, the group headed towards the front of the ship, getting ready to dock, but Riley felt that something was off. When Lambert asked where Earth was, she knew her feelings were right.

"We're not even back in the Milky Way, are we?"

Ripley frowned, glancing over at her sister's seat. "Why would we be awoken before then?"

"Contact Traffic Control," Kane ordered.

Ripley took it. "This is commercial towing vehicle Nostromo out of the Solomons…registration number 1-8-0-9er 2-4-6-0-9er…calling Antartica Traffic Control. Do you read me? Over?" No answer. She repeated herself but still, "Nothing."

"Keep trying." Kane told her.

"I found it," Lambert announced. "Just short of Zeta ll Reticuli. We haven't reached the outer rim yet."

"That's hard to believe," Kane blinked, staring at the screen.

"What the hell are we doing out here?"

"Did you set the route wrong?" Riley asked.

"No," Lambert shook her head.

"That's not our system." Ripley called forward in a sing-song voice.

"I know that." Lambert sang back, annoyed.

**Jack tried his hardest not to roll his eyes as Parker and Brett continued to run their mouths and the three of them moved around the lower sets of the ship. **He really didn't want to hear this but he was stuck as long as these two men were his partners.

"You ever notice how they never come down here?" Parker growled. "I mean, this is where the work is, right?"

"The same damn reason we get a half share to their one." Brett sighed. "Our time is their time. That's the way they see it. Same old shit, man."

"I know why they don't come down here. It's because of you. You have no personality."

"Well, one would think that Ripley would come down here, at least. Jack is her husband." Brett teased.

Jack paused for a moment. "And what makes you think that Ripley HASN'T been down here?"  
Parker glanced at him. "Has she?"

Jack didn't answer in words, just giving a sadistic grin for the other two to think about.

**"****So, what's going on with the ship?" **Riley asked.

Dallas had gathered them all back into the kitchen, explaining everything that had happened while they had been in Stasis.

"Well, some of you may have figured out we're not home yet." Dallas began. "We're only halfway there."

Parker turned his head as Jack raised a brow. "What?"

"Mother's interrupted the course of our journey." The Captain continued.

"Why?" Kane asked.

"She's programmed to do that, should certain conditions arise. They have."

"Like what?" Ripley wondered.

"Seems she had intercepted a transmission of unknown origin. She got us up to check it out."

"A transmission?" Ripley asked.

"Out here?" Riley finished.

"Yeah."

"What kind of transmission?" Lambert asked.

"Acoustical beacon. It repeats at intervals of twelve seconds."

"Is it an S.O.S?" Jack questioned.

"I don't know," The Captain shook his head.

"Human?" Ripley called out.

Dallas shrugged. "Unknown."

"So what?" Parker sat up.

Kane turned to him. "We're obligated under Section B-two-"

The black man chuckled. "I hate to bring this up, but this is a commercial ship, not a rescue ship." Brett agreed. "It's not in my contract to do this kind of duty. You want to give me some money to do it, I'll be happy to."

"Jesus Christ, Parker," Jack growled at the other two men. "Shut up about the damn money. You know that we're not going to have to go off the ship so stay here, look pretty, and whine when I'm not around, got it?"

Parker glared at the other man as the others gave stifled snorts and laughs.

"Can I say something?" Ash pushed in. "There is a clause in the contract which specifically states any systematized transmission indicating a possible intelligent origin must be investigated."

"I don't want to hear it," Parker replied. "I want to go home and party."

Riley had to admit that she wanted to go home as well, but she would do what Dallas told her to do. He was her Captain, after all.

"Parker, will you just listen to the man?" Dallas growled.

"On penalty of total forfeiture of shares. No money." Ash finished.

Parker looked surprised.

"You got that?" Dallas asked. All Parker could do was give a nervous laugh. "All right, we're going in.

They got ready to land on the planet, everyone going through their tasks.

"48 seconds and counting." Ash announced.

"SR-one stable." Riley told them.

"Prepare to disengage from platform." Dallas ordered.

"Twenty seconds." Lambert continued before beginning to countdown. They left the ore behind, getting ready to land on the planet.

Riley gave her sister a sign and Ripley took over, giving her sister a break for a moment. Rubbing her temples, Riley took a deep breath. Her head was starting to kill her with all this crap and worry about what they would find in the planet. Hopefully it would be nothing and just an old beacon that had been there for years now. As the ship began to hit turbulence, the shaking made it hurt worse and she closed her eyes. And then, a long, loud screech went off, jerking her eyes wide open.

"What the hell was that?" Parker demanded.

"Nothing good, that's for sure," Jack growled, glancing at his screens.

"Pressure dropping in deck three." Brett announced. "Must've lost a shield."

"Let's go with it," Dallas told them.

"Dropping off now," Ash announced. "Still dropping. There we are. We've got it."

"Take her down."

The landing was prime, or so they thought. Something happened, jerking them all around as sparks went off towards the front of the ship. The crew all moved to set things safe for the moment.

"What the hell happened?" Dallas demanded as the sirens came to a stop. "Somebody give me a straight answer."

"Is the hull breached?" Kane asked.

"I don't see anything," Ripley replied. "We've still got pressure."

Parker's voice came to them other the intercom. _"Secondary load-sharing unit is out. Jack says three of the four cells are gone."_

"Is that it?" Ripley asked.

_"__No, hold on. We can't fix it out here anyway. We need to reroute a couple of these ducts."_

"Dry-dock time." Kane replied.

"What else?" Dallas sighed.

_"__Some fragment's caked up and we've got to clean it all out and repressurize it."_

"How long before we're functional?"

_"__At least twenty-five hours."_

"Get started," Ripley told them. "Riley and I'll be right down."

Kane, Lambert, and Dallas suited up, being the only three that were going on the first team. Riley and Ripley had been helping Jack and the others for the last hour or so, but Riley had hurried up to talk to Dallas before he left. He was busy putting his suit on just as she came in the doors.

"You sure it's safe to go out there?" she asked him, watching as he pulled his zipper up.

"No, not really," He answered her. "But then again, whenever is space safe? When you're out here-"

Riley smiled. "No one can hear you scream," She finished his little joke. He gave her his own laugh and smile. "Be careful out there, Dallas. If you need help, let me know. I won't second guess coming out there for you."

Dallas smiled and pushed his forehead against hers. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Anora." He gave her another smile before turning and grabbing his helmet before leaving. Placing a hand on her hip, Riley gave another worried frown, praying to God that nothing bad would happen while they were out there, searching for the beacon.

**"****Hey, Ripley, I want to ask you a question." **Parker called over the noise. "If they find what they're looking for out there, does that mean we get full shares?"

~Jesus~ Jack frowned, pausing in his work with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry, Parker. Yeah. You'll get whatever's coming to you." The woman replied.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Jack smiled at his wife.

"Look," Brett jumped in. "I'm not going to do any more work till we get this straightened out."

"Brett," Ripley sighed. "You're guaranteed by law to get a share."

"What?" Parker called out.

"Why don't you just fuck off?" The woman growled at him, turning to leave.

Jack followed her, holding her against him after turning her around. "Just ignore the two of them. Their morons."

"And your partners." Ripley smiled, reaching forward to give him a kiss. "If you need any help, I'll be on the bridge."

"Aww, why not just stay here with me?" He asked her. "It would be much nicer," His hand trailed down her back. "And funner."

Ripley leaned her head back for a moment, a large smile on her face. "It would be better, wouldn't it," She leaned forward and gave him another kiss. "But I'm afraid that we both have jobs to do, Jack," She pulled away from him. "So get to yours."

"Bossy!" Jack hooted after her. "I like that!"

Ripley gave laughs as she walked down the hall, leaving the three Engineers to their job.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two_**

**_Facehugger_**

**"****You okay?"**

The sound of her sister's voice made Riley lift her head from the table. She had come in for a cup of coffee but ended up resting her head on the table instead. Rubbing her eyes, Riley nodded as Ripley sat down beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just worried."

"Dallas will be just fine, Riles," Ripley smiled at her. "Just watch. We'll be done here soon and back home. Then the two of you can go off on your little get-away together!"

"Don't say things like that!" Riley flushed. "Dallas and I are just friends, Ripley."

"Yeah, because both of you are too embarrassed to admit you want the other," her sister snorted.

"You and Jack took years to do it too!" Riley defended.

"Yes, but look where we are now. A kid."

Riley gave a laugh. "Yeah," She knew that her sister was just trying to cheer her up and she appreciated it.

"Come on," Ripley pulled her to her feet. "Let's go back to the front. We gotta be there when they get back." Riley followed her sister to the front of the ship again, her cat following after her. Taking another drink from her coffee, Ripley pressed a button to contact Ash.

"How's it going?" Ripley asked.

Ash gave a sigh. "_All right."_

"Have you tried putting that transmission through E.C.I.U.?"

_"__No. Mother hasn't identified it yet."_

"Do you mind if I give it a shot?"

_"__Please do."_

"I don't like him," Riley told her sister as they took their seats. "Not at all."

Ripley gave her a smile. "He's not really that bad, Riles."

"Yeah, but I still don't like him." She replied, taping away at the board before her as her. The numbers flew across the screens. All they had to do was wait, now. The sisters spread into a conversation of their plans when they reached Earth again. Of course Ripley and Jack would get their time with their daughter and whatnot, but it would be their birthday soon. The sisters made plan for a day just to themselves. It had been a while since it was just the two of them. They needed to get away from everything else for a little while, so why not take part of that on their birthday?

"Look at this…" Ripley leaned closer to the screen before pressing another button. "Ash, that transmission. Mother's deciphered part of it. It doesn't look lik an S.O.S."

_"__What is it then?"_

"It looks like some kind of a warning," Riley told him, looking over the screen herself. "I'm going to go out after them."

_"__What's the point?" _Ash replied. _"I mean, by the time it takes to get there they'll know if it's a warning or not. Yes?"_

"He's got a point," Ripley told her as she switched the machine off again.

"Yeah, but I still hate him." Riley was even more worried now with the trio out there on this unknown planet looking for something they didn't know anything about.

Ripley placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Everything will be just fine."

"You sure about that?" Jack's face slipped up between the two women, gazing over the screen. Both women gave a scream and a jump. Ripley began to slap her husband for scaring them. "Jeez, so jumpy," He teased with a smile. He glanced back at the scream. "What the hell is going on here?"

"The S.O.S. is a warning," Ripley told him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jack asked her.

"We're not sure yet," Riley answered him. "But we'll know when Dallas and the others return." She smiled as the cat jumped into her lap. "How are the repairs going?"

"Well, as good as they can be, I suppose. I'm tired of listening to the other two whine though. That's all they're doing and it's-"

_"__You there, Riley?"_

"Dallas!" The woman leaned forward at the voice. They had returned. "Are you all okay?"

_"__We, uh, we got a problem."_

Her heart crashed. "What do you mean?"

_"__Ok, Ripley, I'm at the inner lock hatch now."_ Ash announced.  
"Right."

_"__Ok. We're clean. Let us in." _Dallas' voice was heavy.

"What's wrong with Kane?" Jack asked.

_"__Something has attached itself to him," _Dallas told them. _"We have to get him to the infirmary right away."_

The sisters shared a look. "What kind of thing?" Ripley asked him. "We need a definition."

_"__An organism. Open the hatch." _

"What a second," Riley's mind reeled. "But if we do that we could infect the entire ship! You know the quarantine procedure calls for a 24 hour decontamination."

Dallas' voice was firm. _"He could die in 24 hours. Open the hatch."_

"Listen to me," Ripley tried to reason with him. "If we break quarantine, we could all die."

"Would you open the goddamn hatch?" Lambert yelled. "We have to get him inside."

That seemed to set Ripley's thought. "No, I can't do that and if you were in our position, you'd do the same."

_"__This is an order. Open the hatch right now. Do you hear me?" _Dallas ordered.

Riley squeezed her eyes shut. "Yes. Yes, I hear you but…"

_"__This is an order!_

"The answer is negative." Ripley told him as Jack closed his eyes.

_"__Inner hatch opened."_

"Son of a bitch!" Riley hissed. Ash had opened the hatch. She glared at her sister as she stood to her feet. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Not before I do," Jack told her as he led the way through the ship.

When they arrived to the infirmary, Ash and Dallas were inside, operating on the creature attached to Kane's face as the others were outside, staring in. Riley felt like she was going to be sick. It was a pale creature that looked almost like human skin with a bony structure that looked like long, spiny fingers. The fingers were spread around his head as a long tail was wrapped around his neck.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked, staring into the room.

"How is he?" Ripley asked.

"He doesn't look too good." Lambert moaned, biting her nails.

"How come they don't freeze him?" Parker asked. He turned back to the window. "How come you guys don't freeze him?"

"Because they're morons." Jack replied.

"They don't know what it is," Riley replied. "I think that's what they're trying to find out."

About five minutes later, after Dallas and Ash talked, they tried to remove it and it seemed that the creature's blood was…acid. It burnt right through the floor. Dallas came running out.

"It's going to eat through the goddamn hull. Come on!"

The crew moved after the captain, dropping through the floors of the ship to find out where the acid had melted through. It went through three floors before it stopped.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked.

"A type of corrosive acid, it seems." Riley sighed, scratching her head. "The creature's blood too, apparently.

"Haven't seen anything like that except molecular acid," Dallas commented.

"It's got one hell of a defense mechanism," Parker commented from Riley's comment. "You don't dare kill it."

"Now with it attached to Kane, that's for sure." Jack nodded, rubbing his chin.

"What about him, then?" Ripley asked.

"Leave Kane to Ash," Dallas told them as he left the room. "Let's get back to work."

Jack grabbed his wife. "I don't want you going near that thing, understand?"

"Don't worry about me," Ripley shook her head as she followed the others out of the room. "You won't find me anywhere near it."

Ripley went off to confront Ash, no doubt about that, but Riley went to find Dallas. She had to make sure that he was okay but he seemed to have disappeared on the ship. He was probably blaming Kane's fate on himself. Lambert was freaking out in her own way and Riley decided to stay away from that. So she stepped around the ship, looking for something to do as Jack refused to let her help fix the ship. She found herself, unfortunantly, in the infirmary. Kane was still there on the table, that…thing spread across his face. She turned to leave again but caught herself, turning back to stare at it.

It was such a strange creature. An Alien life-form. Real. Alive. Right before her. It was amazing, through creepy still. All that was left in the room was her, Kane, and their new friend. Ash must have gone off somewhere. As she stood there, staring at the creature, a strange thought came to her mind.

What did it feel like?

Was the creature cold and scaly? Was it warm and soft? The urge was killing her and before she knew it, she had walked towards the table, reaching her hand out towards the strange creature. It's skin…it felt like silicone. She froze for a moment as a strange sound filled the room. The creature…it sounded like it was…purring. Like when you petted a cat. It made a small smile spread across Riley's face for some reason…until the creature moved. It unwound itself from Kane's neck and de-latched it's fingers from his head, flinging itself at the woman.

Giving out a cry, Riley threw her hands up, catching the creature before flinging it away from herself and running from the room as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding and, as she looked back inside, the creature was nowhere to be seen. It had disappeared, leaving Kane on the table.

Riley took a deep breath and slid back inside the room and towards the desk, searching for the creature; the Facehugger. She grabbed the switch on the wall.

"Dallas!" Riley cried into the radio. "Dallas! Get down here! It's…It's that thing!"

After announcing that, she hurried back out of the room. She only had to wait a few minutes for Dallas to arrive, Ash and Ripley right behind him.

"Riley!" Dallas grabbed her. "Are you all right?"

"What happened her sister demanded.

"I'm fine," She answered, calming her breathing. "That thing…the Facehugger, it attacked me when I went in there." She couldn't tell them that she had been petting it now, could she?

"Where is it?" Ripley asked, glancing into the room.

"I don't know," Riley shook her head. "I…I just tossed it away."

"You tossed it!" Ash demanded.

"Well, when it's jumping at me, fuck yeah!" She growled at him.

"What were you doing in here, Riley?" Dallas asked her.

"I…I don't know. I was looking for you and just sorta found myself here."

"We have to try and find it." Ash sighed.

Dallas agreed and the four of them moved into the infirmary again. Kane was still alive and breathing on his own. Dallas knocked over something and scared the hell out of all of them. Riley's heard was pounding as she bent down to carefully peer under the table Kane laid on. Ripley, on the other side of the table, gave out a scream. Riley jumped to her feet and watched as her sister flung the Facehugger away from her, crawling backwards across the floor as the two men joined them. She waited for the alien to move but it sat there on it's back, curled up.

"Is it…dead?" She asked.

"Cover the damn thing, will you?" Dallas asked Ash as he knelt down beside it to get a closer look. Ash poked it and the creature's fingers moved. "It's alive!" Dallas cried as Riley jumped back.

"That's a reflex action," Ash corrected him. "Riley is right. It's dead." He gave a small little grin. "Well, we've got to have a look at this." Riley felt like she was going to piss herself as the three of them watched the man of science do his work on the new creature. "Seems dead enough.

"Well, good. Let's get rid of it." Ripley replied.

"Ripley, for God's sake, this is the first time that we've encountered a species like this. It has to go back. Tests have to be made."

"Ash, are you kidding? This thing bled Acid. Who knows what it's going to do when it's dead."

"I think it's safe to assume it isn't a zombie." Ash told her.

"We can't just run tests on it," Riley told him. "We're already inhumane enough with animals, don't you think?"

Ash glanced at the Captain. "Dallas, it has to go back."

He thought for a moment. "Well, I'd soon as not burn it at the stake…but you're the science officer. It's your decision, Ash."

"Dallas!" Ripley didn't like that answer and followed the Captain out of the infirmary.

Riley turned back to Ash and the creature. "So, what are you going to do with it?"

**"****How can I change my mind? **The decision's ben made." Dallas sighed as Ripley chased him through the ship.

"I'm not trying to change your mind, Dallas," The woman replied. "I just want you to listen. Will you listen to-" She reached up and hit a button so the man couldn't continue through the ship. "Just tell me how you can leave that kind of decision to him?"

"Look, I just run the ship." Dallas sighed, not wanting to deal with this. Anything that has to do with the science division Ash has the final word."

"How does that happen?"

"It happens because that's what the Company wants to happen."

"Since when is that standard procedure?" Ripley asked.

Dallas had moved closer to her. "Standard procedure is to do what the hell they tell you to do."

"Did you ever ship out with Ash before?"

"I went out five times with another science officer. Ask your sister; she was with me. They replaced him two days before we left Thedus with Ash."

"I don't trust him," Ripley shook her head. "Neither does Riley. If you can't listen to me, then listen to her."

Dallas gave a sigh. "What's happening with the repairs? How're they going?"

"They're pretty much finished now," The woman shook her head.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me so?" Dallas asked her.

"Because there's still some things left to do," Ripley answered him.

"Like what?"

"Well, we're blind in B and C Decks. The reserve power system is-"

"Oh, that's a bunch of horseshit!" Dallas sighed and turned away. "We can take off without that.

"Yeah, we can. You think that's a good idea."

"Look, I just want to get the hell out of here, all right?" Dallas growled.

**Kane awoke later that night. **

"How are you doing?" Parker asked as he handed the man a glass of water.

"Oh, terrific. Next silly question." They all gave a chuckle, relieved that the man was awake again.

"You remember anything about the planet?" Dallas asked him. Everyone listened in interest. He shook his head.

"What's the last thing you do remember?" Ripley question.

"I remember some horrible dream about smother, and…" He began to shake his head. "Anyway, where are we?"

"Right here." Dallas smiled.

"We're on our way home." Ripley grinned.

"Back to the old freezerinos." Brett chuckled.

"Oh no," Kane shook his head. "I've got to have something to eat before we go back."

"I need something myself," Parker laughed.

"Yeah," Dallas tossed a hand in the air. "One more meal before bedtime. I'm buying."

"Well, the meal I'm wanting isn't quite something you can pay for, Captain," Jack grinned slyly as he slid an arm around his wife.

Ripley pulled away from him. "And that's not something that you're going to get anytime soon."

"Out of luck there, pal." Riley sniggered.

This lunch had a happy chatter flying around the table as they all happily ate. Kane was safe now and they were all heading back to Earth; finally.

"The first think I'm gonna do when I get back," Kane was saying. "Is to get some decent food."

"Amen to that, brother," Jack raised his glass. "A damn good burger is what I want. Sloppy and smothered in onion and cheese and-"

"Stop it before you make us all hungry," Riley laughed at her brother-in-law. Everyone gave their own laughs until Kane began to cough. He held a horrid look on his face.

Parker placed a hand on his back. "What's the matter? The food ain't that bad, baby."

Everyone caught the drift that something was wrong. They thought the man was choking for a moment before he stood, gasping for breath. They turned him over and he fell back onto the table as he began to go through spasms, groaning in pain.

"It's it a seizure?" Jack asked.

Riley jumped forward on the table and grabbed the man's head and shoved a spoon between his teeth, holding it in there as long as she could in case it was, but, as they soon found out, it was much, much worse.

Blood came squirting out of his chest, splashing across everyone there. Everything froze for a moment, as everyone stared in shock, not sure what to think, before the spasms came again; and faster. The blood came again and everyone watched as it came again and again, like something was trying to break out of his body. Riley instantly realized what was going on. That thing, that Facehugger, it had planted something inside of Kane's chest. Kane was 'giving birth' to an alien baby.

Small, loud screeches burst into the room as the blood spattered over everyone. Riley froze at the sight of the small, pale creature that slowly rose out of Kane's now limp body. It turned its head, as if taking in a look of them all before turning to glance at Riley. Her hands slipped off of Kane's head as she slipped back from the table, her breaths coming in short.

Parker picked up a knife to kill the thing but Ash wouldn't let him.

"Don't touch it! Don't touch it!" The alien game another screech before shooting across the table. Riley jumped back with a cry and they all watched as it escaped through the open door, making the _Nostromo_ its new playground.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

**_Track It Down_**

**"****Anybody want to say anything?"** Dallas asked, gazing at the screen before him. They were placing Kane to rest. Riley gripped her hands together and quietly said a prayer as Jack placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. Dallas reached forward and pressed the button, sending the wrapped up body into space. After a few more moments of silence, the crew gathered anything that they could have called 'weapons' together.

"This is an ordinary prod," Brett explained. "Like a cattle prod. It's got a portable battery. It's insulated all the way up to here."

"What the hell is that going to do?" Jack asked, arms crossed. As an answer, Brett reached over and poked him with it. Jack gave a yelp and backed away from him, rubbing the spot. "All right, all right, I got it."

"Just be damn sure that nobody puts their hands on the end of it." Brett finished, giving Jack a wink. "Shouldn't damage the little bastard, unless its skin is thinner than ours, but it will give him a little incentive.

"Now we just have to find it." Lambert sighed.

"Where in the hell could it have gone?"

Riley glanced at Jack as he stomped a foot. "It's the size of the cat, Jack, even smaller. It can hide anywhere it likes."

"Yeah, well, when I find it, I'mma kill it."

"You and me both," Ripley agreed with her husband. "It must have gone even further into the ship. Down below."

"Or the air shafts, maybe." Riley told them.

"I've taken care of that." Ash announced. "I've designed this tracking device. You set it to search for a moving object. Hasn't got much of a range, but when you get close it gives off a signal."

"What's it key on?" Ripley asked him.

"Micro changes in air density."

"Give me a demo." Dallas ordered, moving forward and grabbing the machine. He turned it on and Ash waved his arm in front of it. It gave off a weird, whistling sound, indicating that it worked. Dallas set it back down. "Two teams. Ash, Lambert, Riley, and I. Ripley, you take Parker, Brett, and Jack. Now, anyone see this thing catch it in a net that Parker's holding. Parker, I don't want any heroics out of you, all right?" Parker pulled a face before turning away. "Catch it, put it in the airlock, and get rid of it. Channels are open on all decks. I want you to communicate and keep in touch at all times, all right?" Riley nodded. "Let's go."

"Ripley, Jack, be careful," Riley told them as the two teams separated.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of your sister, Anora, don't worry about that." Jack assured her. She nodded and followed after Dallas.

Jack held the motion tracker as Ripley moved up behind him with a flashlight, Parker and Brett wielding the net. They were moving slowly, not wanting to miss a thing.

"I thought you fixed twelve module." Ripley decided to comment.

"We did," Brett replied. "I don't understand it."

"The circuits must have burned out." Parker told her.

"Not hard to believe," Jack agreed, coming to a stop in front of one of the circuit breakers. Parker moved forward with a knife and set to work. He turned to the woman of the group. "You all right?"

Ripley took a breath, trying to calm herself down. "Yeah…for now, anyway." She glanced down at the tracker device in his hands and caught her breath as the whistling noise began. The lights turned on and Parker and Brett grabbed the net, getting ready.

"According to this, it's within five meters," Ripley told them, still glancing over Jack shoulder. She lifted her head and looked into the storage room.

"You guys ready?" Jack asked, placing a hand on the panel. Not waiting for a answer he opened the door.

"Micro changes in density my ass," Ripley hissed.

"Be careful," Parker told them all as they slowly moved into the room, their eyes searching everywhere. As they moved further into the room, Jack paused for a moment as the whistling got louder. He paused in his steps and shut the machine off, slowly setting it on the ground.

"What is it?" Brett whispered.

Placing a hand on Ripley, he pushed her back and motioned for Parker and Brett to move forward. "It's in the locker."

The two men moved into place and Jack opened the door. The orange cat of the ship gave a furious hiss at having the light shined in his face before jolting off into freedom.

"Wait!" Ripley cried. "Don't let him go!"

"What the hell are you doing man?" Parker cried at his partner.

Brett looked at them like they were crazy. "It's the cat, man."

Jack clapped a hand on Brett's shoulder as Parker began to laugh. "All right guys, just calm down."

"We have to bag it," Parker began. "Or else we'll pick it up on the tracker again."

"Easy mistake, it's all good, though." Jack nodded.

"I'll go get it," Brett told them, walking off after the cat.

"Don't be so mad at him," Jack told Parker. "He didn't do anything wrong. Apologize when he comes back." The other man grumbled something under his breath but gave a nod anyway. Ripley gave a sigh. Jack gave another laugh. "I can't believe your sister's cat scared the shit out of us," They made the other two laugh; for a moment.

"You would think that Jones is more scared than we are," Ripley commented as they continued to move on. "There's an alien running around in his little play-spaces."

Jack gave a perverted grin. "Yeah, I would be extremely pissed if someone was running around in MY play-spaces."

Parker laughed as Ripley hit him. "Shut up, Jack!"

And that was when Brett's scream him them. Neither of them said a word before turning and running after the other man of their group. Bursting into the room, Jack slid to a halt at the sight before him. His eyes landed on the strange creature, big and black, as it disappeared into the shaft with Brett's body.

**"****Whatever it was, it was big and," **Parker lost his voice.

They had all gathered back together and told the other team what had happened to Brett. Jones sat in Riley's arms, shivering as if still afraid.

"You sure it took him into the airshaft?" Dallas asked.

Ripley nodded. "Disappeared into one of the cooling ducts."

"No question, the air ducts is its way of passage," Jack sighed, scratching his head as he glanced at the map of the ship on the table before them.

"Could he want Brett alive?" Lambert asked.

"What?" Ripley turned to her.

"Could Brett be alive?"

"No. I mean, I don't think so."

"You know, this air shaft may work to our advantage." Dallas commented.

"And how is that?" Riley asked him.

"Here it leads up to and comes out in a main air lock." Dallas told her. "All right, there's only one big opening along the way. We'll cover that up and then we…drive it into the air lock and zap it into outer space."

"This son of a bitch is huge!" Parker told him. "I mean, it's like a man. It's big!"

"Kane's son." Ash commented.

"That's stupid to say," Riley laughed. She was starting to feel responsible for it being in the ship. She could have caught it after it burst out of Kane if she hadn't of moved out of the way. If she hadn't of moved, then Brett would still be alive and that thing would already be floating in space.

"Ash, the science department should help us." Ripley began. "I mean, what can we do to drive it?"

"Yes, well, it's adapted remarkably well to our atmosphere considering its nutritional requirements."

"Could that be because of Kane?" Jack asked.

Dallas raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that thing grew inside of Kane, right? And you and Lambert said that there were other eggs, right? Well that Facehugger implanted that…thing inside Kane as an egg and as it grew it took on to Kane's attributes, don't you think?"

Ash nodded. "That's a smart way of looking at it and the only thing we don't know how it will react to is temperature."

"Okay, what about temperature? What happens if we change it?" Ripley asked.

"Let's try it." The scientist replied. "I mean, most animals retreat from fire, yes?"

Dallas nodded. "Fire, yeah. Parker, Jack, can you rig three or four incinerator units?"

"Give me about twenty minutes and I'll do it,"

"Don't worry about it, man," Jack crossed his arms. "I'll take care of it. You just…rest for a bit." You could tell that the other man needed it.

"Who gets to go into the vent?" Lambert asked.

"I vote Jack." Riley shot out.

Jack frowned at her. "Are you crazy? You know I have problems in being in small places."

"No," Dallas shook his head. "Ripley, you, Riley and Ash take the main airlock. Parker, Lambert, Jack, cover up that maintenance opening, please."

"Right," Lambert sighed, walking away.

"But, but Dallas," Riley began as the others all left. "You could get hurt! That thing could kill you like it did Brett!"

"Yeah, and it can kill the rest of you if you were to go in there, too." Dallas replied. "I'd rather it be me than you going in there."

"But Dallas," She was cut off when Dallas grabbed her shoulders.

"I'll be fine, Anora," He assured her. "Trust me. I'll get that thing out of this ship and we'll be on our way back home, I promise."

She stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug. "You better be."

**Riley joined Ash and Ripley at the main airlock. **She was nervous beyond belief for Dallas and she was praying as hard as she could that nothing bad happened while he was in that air shaft.

_"__I'm at the first junction." _Dallas told them.

"Dallas, I'm right here." Riley replied into her headset.

_"__Parker?"_

_"__Yeah?"_

_"__Lambert?"_

_"__We're in position. I'm just trying to get a reading."_

"The air lock is open," Ripley announced.

_"__Ok, Ripley."_

"Ready."

They couldn't see anything that happened as he moved through the airshafts but they could hear it. It was really nothing at first as he announced where he was moving, but then in came. It was on the machine. Dallas was just a dot on the screen until the second one began to move on the edge of it. And it was moving closer to Dallas.

_"__Dallas, hold on a minute. I think I got it," _Lambert called out. _"Yes, I've got it."_

_"__Where?"_

_"__Somewhere around the third junction."_

_"__Ok, moving on."_

~Please, please stay safe~ Riley found herself begging in silence. Ripley grabbed her sister's hand.

_"__It is right around there. Be careful."_

There was a pause for a moment. _All right. I've reached…the third junction and I'm going down."_

_"__What the hell's the matter with that box?" _Parker asked.

_"__Dallas, hold you position for a minute. I've lost the signal."_

_"__Oh shit." _Jack hissed.

_"__What? You sure?"_

_"__Are you sure that it's not there? It's got to be around there somewhere."_

_"__Check that out, Lambert. You may be getting interference."_

_"__Dallas, are you sure there's no sign of it? I mean, it is there. It's gotta be around there."_

"Dallas," Riley called out. "Just get out of there. Just go." She told him.

_"__I can't believe this is happening," _Dallas' mutter barely made it back to them. He finally gave in. _"All right. Uh, am I clear, Lambert? I want to get the hell out of here."_

_"__Oh, God, it's moving right towards you!" _Lambert cried. _"Move! Get out of there! It's moving towards you! Move! No, not that way! The other way, Dallas!"_

"Dallas!" Riley went to move but the sound caught her. The screech. And then there was nothing.

"Dallas?" Ripley called into her headset. Nothing but static.

**Parker slamming the flamethrower on the table made Riley jump. **Ripley had brought her sister into the kitchen to get her away from what had happened but how could that possibly work? They had just sat there in silence until the others joined them.

"We found this laying there." Parker began. "No blood…no Dallas…nothing."

Riley hung her head and bit her bottom lip, trying not to cry. It didn't work.

"Where in the hell did it drag him off to?" Jack growled, crossing his arms.

"Unless somebody has got a better idea…we'll proceed with Dallas' plan." Ripley told them.

"What?" Lambert cried out. "And end up like the others? Oh, no, you're out of your mind!"

"You got a better idea?"

"Yes! I say that we abandon this ship. We get the shuttle and just get the hell out of here! We take our chances and just hope that somebody-"

"Lambert," Ripley tried to calm the woman down. "The shuttle won't take six."

"Well, then, why don't we draw straws?"

"I'm not drawing any straws," Parker put an end to that right away. "I'm for killing that goddamn thing right now."

"Amen." Jack agreed.

"We…we know it's using the air shafts," Riley began, trying to calm her trembling hands.

"We don't know that," Parker shook his head.

"That the only way," Ripley told him. "We'll move in pairs. We'll go step by step and cut off every bulkhead and every vent until we have it cornered and then we'll blow it the fuck out into space. Is that acceptable to you?

"If it means killing it then it's acceptable to me." Parker nodded.

"Obviously it means killing it but we have to stick together." Ripley took a breath. "How are our weapons?"

"The weapons are fine," Parker told her. "This one needs refueling."

"Will you get it, please?"

"Let's go, Parker," Jack stood up.

"I don't need you to follow me." The other man told him.

"Well, too bad because I don't want to come across you being dragged into an airshaft as well, so just deal with me going with you." The two left and Ash turned to leave as well.

"Ash?" Ripley called out to him. "Any suggestions from you or Mother?"

"No. We're still collating."

"You're what?" Ripley gave a disbelieving laugh. "You're still collating? I find that hard to believe."

"What would you like me to do?" Ash asked.

"Just what you've been doing, Ash," Ripley cut him off. "Nothing. Riley and I have access to Mother now and we'll get our own answers, thank you."


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

**_The Real 'Plan'_**

**"****Are you gonna be all right?"**

Riley glanced away from her sister as she opened up the walkway to Mother. "No, but I'll survive."

"Anora, I'm sorr-"

"Let's just leave it where it's at, Eleanor." Riley told her sister before moving through the door. She took a seat in the chair; Dallas' chair. She was still for a moment before she took a deep breath and began to do what she and her sister had come in for. She had to find out what the hell was going on before she got revenge for Dallas against that creature. Mother's light began to go off as she typed at the keys.

**INTERFACE 2037 READY FOR INQUIRY**

**REQUEST CLARIFICATAION ON**

**SCIENCE INABILITY TO NEUTRALIZE ALIEN**

**UNABLE TO CLAIRFY**

"What do you mean unable to clarify?" Riley repeated it.

"Let's try this," Ripley leaned over and typed her own part into the computer.

**REQUEST ENHANCEMENT**

**NO FURTHER ENHANCEMENT**

**SPECIAL ORDER 937**

**SCIENCE OFFICER EYES ONLY**

"What the hell does Ash have to do with this?" Ripley asked her sister.

"The soup is thickening, it seems." Riley replied, taking over the keys of the computer again. "I have a feeling that we're gonna kill that bastard for hiding this from us."

**EMERGENCY COMMAND OVERIDE 100375**

**WHAT IS SPECIAL ORDER 937?**

**NOSTROMO REROUTED**

**TO NEW CO-ORDINATES.**

**INVESTIGATE LIFE FORM. GATHER SPECIMEN.**

**PRIORITY ONE**

**INSURE RETURN OF ORGANISM**

**FOR ANALYSIS.**

**ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS SECONDARY.**

**CREW EXPENDABLE.**

Riley felt her mouth droop open as everything just seemed to shatter. Ash knew about all of this? He was behind it all? That meant that Kane and Dallas were both dead because of him. Dallas was…

"There is an explanation for this, you know."

Riley jumped at the voice, not knowing that the Science Officer had joined them but her sister let her anger out and grabbed him, slamming him against the wall.

"There is?! I don't want to hear your goddamn explanation!" She threw him away from her, fighting back the pain and tears. Riley slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I don't want to hear…I don't want to hear…I…"

"Come on," Riley began to lead her sister away from the room. They needed to go and tell the others, now before something else happened. She had no doubt in her mind that Jack and Parker were going to be extremely pissed; she didn't want to think about what the two men were going to do to the other man. Riley led her sister back into the kitchen and jumped on the radio.

"Parker. Jack. Lambert?" There was no answer.

"You don't think…"

"No," Riley shook her head. "The three of them are fine. Don't worry."

Ripley went to move through another door but it closed on her. They both knew who it was. "Ash. Open the door." She went to move through another door but he closed that one, too.

"Ash," Riley felt her anger rising even more. "Open the damn door. You're caught, you moron. Face it."

"No I'm not," The man replied. "Not yet."

"Will you open the door?" Ripley asked. No answer. That was when Riley noticed the strange, white liquid pouring down the man's forehead. Her eyes narrowed. She had seen that before. She knew what it was.

"Ripley! Get away from him!" Riley told her sister before jumping on the intercom again. "Jack! Jack! Get in here!" She was cut off by her sister's cry and turned to see that Ash had ripped some of her hair out. Ripley was crawling away but Ash grabbed her and flung her against the wall. Riley was frozen, unsure of what to do at the moment, but when he went to grab her sister again, she ran forward and jumped on Ash's back. She was expecting him to crumble beneath her, or at least stumble, but when he stayed up straight, like nothing had happened, her suspicions came true.

Ash was an android.

Riley grunted in pain as Ash slammed her against the wall before tossing her across the table. The impact made her dizzy and lose consciousness for a moment, before a pair of hands settled on her face. She gave a cry and tried to pull away but Lamberts voice calmed her down.

"Ash," She gasped.

"It's all right," Lambert shushed her. "We got here in time. Everything's all right,"

Sitting up, Riley took in Jack holding his wife as she settled her breathing and Parker was standing over a decapitated Ash. She had been right; the man was an android.

"Can you fix this thing so we can talk to it?"

It took a moment for Riley to realize that Jack was talking to her. She blinked. "I might be able to. Just the head though. I'm not chancing the rest of the body."

"Are you all right?" Lambert asked her. Riley nodded before helping Parker pull the body up from the floor. Ash's attack had hurt, and the table wasn't comfortable at all, but she wanted damn answers and by God she was going to get them.

"How come the Company sent us a goddamn robot?" Parker hissed.

"All I can think of is that they must've wanted the alien for their weapons division." Ripley answers as they all watched her sister work. "He's been protecting it right along."

"So he knew all about it and still sent Kane down there to bring it aboard?" Jack growled, still holding onto his wife. "I'm gonna kill all those bastards."

"Parker, plug it in, please." Riley called out. "Hopefully this bastard knows how to kill it."

"He'd better." Jack growled.

Ripley moved forward as her sister set the head up. "Ash, can you hear me?" No reply. She slammed on the table. "Ash!" The eyes popped open.

More of the white liquid poured from his mouth. "Yes, I can hear you."

"What was your special order?" The woman asked him.

"You read it. I thought it was clear."

"What was it?" Ripley demanded.

"Bring back life form. Priority one. All other priorities rescinded."

"That damn Company!" Parker roared, jumping to his feet. "What about our lives, you son of a bitch?"

"I repeat—all other priorities are rescinded."

"All I care about is how we kill that damn thing," Jack commented. "So do me a favor and tell me."

"You can't," Was his answer.

"What do you mean we can't?" Riley asked him.

"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you?" Ash asked them. "The perfect organism. It's structural perfection is matched only by its hostility."

"You admire it." Lambert commented.

Ash glanced at her. "I admire its purity. A survivor—unclouded…by conscience…remorse…or delusions of morality."

Riley stared at Ash in a new sort of light. She could see that Ash hated being controlled by the Company to do this. He hated being given orders and whatever else he had been given. He wanted to make his own choices, like the Alien; like them.

"Ash, you could have told us," She said. "You could have told me."

"And what would you have been able to do?" He asked her. She didn't have an answer for that at the top of her heard but when she finally decided to respond, Parker cut her off.

"I've heard enough of this. I'm asking you to pull the plug." Riley gave a sigh and reached forward.

"Last word, Anora," Ash froze her hand. "I can't lie to you about your chance, but…you have my sympathies." Riley gave a frown before cutting the cord and letting Ash fail again.

"We're going to blow up the ship." Ripley told them. "We'll take our chances in the shuttle. Blow up the ship."

"Good." Parker nodded.

"I'm down with it." Jack agreed, leading the way out the door. Riley watched Parker set Ash's body on fire for a moment before following her sister out into the hall.

"When we throw the switches, how long before the ship blows?" Ripley was asking.

"Ten minutes," Jack answered her. "So we'd better move fast."

"If we ain't out of her in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space." Parker commented.

"We're gonna need coolant for the air-support system," Riley announced, keeping her eyes opened as they moved.

"Parker, you, Lambert, and Riley go and gather all the coolant that you can carry," Jack told the trio. "Ripley and I'll get the shuttle ready."

"We'll give you about seven minutes," Ripley announced, glancing at her watch. "Come back up here, I'll shut the switches off and we'll blow this fucker off into space."

"Ok." Parker breathed. "Come on." He led the way down. "Take care of yourself."

"Seven minutes." Ripley told them.

"We'll be done faster than that," Riley told her, following the man down. She was scared out of her mind, no doubt about that, but they had to get out of there and fast. Jack would take care of his wife, no doubt in that either. She just had to worry about the three of them for the moment until they got to the shuttle.

Lambert entered the room pushing the cart and set up the light before the three of them began to collect the coolant tubes.

"Keep your eyes open," Riley called to Parker as she placed the coolant on the cart. "We can't let ourselves get caught now, you know."

"Don't worry," Parker told her with a glare as he looked over the room sharply. "I got it."

Setting the last coolant onto the cart, Lambert began to push it back out of the room. Riley took another look around it, and followed them out. Parker told Lambert to check the bottles. Riley went to help but something caught her attention. She instantly placed a hand on Parker's shoulder and the man jumped, grabbing his gun. "What is it?" He demanded, glaring around. Lambert paused.

Riley was silent. "It's nothing…"

Parker glanced at her before turning back to the area around them. Riley then found herself worrying about Ripley and Jack. The two of them were still okay, weren't they? She had to keep her thoughts clear that her sister and brother-in-law were going to be fine and just be waiting for them in the shuttle. She had to keep thinking that they were all going to get out of this alive, or else they wouldn't. She had to keep thinking that-

"Oh, my God!"

Parker's pulled Riley out of her thoughts. Whipping around, the sight of the alien cornering Lambert against the wall made her breath stop. "Oh no."

"Get out of the way!" Parker cried, picking up his gun.

"I can't!"

"Lambert, you have to move!" Riley told her, clenching her fists.

"Get out of the way! It's going to kill us!"

"No, I can't!"

"For Christ's sake, get out of the way!" Riley's brain was moving, but she couldn't get her legs to move to grab Lambert and make her move. Her feet were frozen to the ground in fear as the large, black life form, drool oozing from its mouth, lifted itself to its full height and stared down at the woman before it. Ripley's voice called out to all three of them but all of them were stuck on the sight before them.

"Get out of the way, Lambert!" Parker called again, his finger ready to yank on the trigger. Lambert just stood there and cried.

Riley was left to watch as Parker ran forward to save the other woman and was thrown aside by the creature's tail. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the mouth opened, more drool seeping from it, and a tongue shot out, with a second head on it, and stabbed into Parker's chest. Her hands rose to her mouth in fear before the creature took care of Lambert. She stepped back as the alien took its prey. She had to get out of the room and now. She was an idiot for just standing there as long as she did.

Sliding back in her steps as slowly and silently as she could, she had almost reached the door when the Alien's head turned to rest its sight on her.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Five_**

**_Lucky Star_**

**"****Ripley, we have to go." **

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the bodies on the floor before them.

"Ripley."

All the blood…

"ELEANOR!" The woman drew her eyes from the room when Jack grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. "We have to go!"

"R-right." She turned and ran off again back towards the shuttle. Riley's body wasn't there. She was gone, just like Dallas had been. The creature had taken her. The Alien had taken her! If only they had been a little faster! They might have been able to save them! To save her sister!

Sweat poured down them both as they hurried through the halls and Jack slammed the door shut behind them as his wife began to prep everything up and set up the bomb to destroy the ship. Jack was at a lost. Everyone was dead. He and Ripley were the only two left…

_"__DANGER. THE EMERGENCY DESTRUCT SYSTEM IS NOW ACTIVATED. THE SHIP WILL DETONATE IN T-MINUS TEN MINUTES. THE OPTION TO OVERRIDE AUTOMATIC DETONATION EXPIRES IN T-MINUS FIVE MINUTES."_

(That reminds me of the end of Resident evil 2, lol)

"Let's go, Ripley," Jack told his wife, grabbing her hand. He dragged the shaking woman behind him through the steam that the ship was blasting off in the halls. He had his finger ready on the gun trigger incase that alien bastard decided to try and pop up on them again and finish what it meant to do. He was thankful that it didn't, but he was still ready for it at any minute.

Jack didn't know what would happen now. He was lost in everything that had happened. Everyone that they had worked with, everyone that was important to them, they were all now dead. His sister-in-law was dead. And if they didn't hurry, then the two of them would be dead now, too.

~No,~ Jack told himself, shaking his head as they stumbled through the steam some more. He squeezed his wife's hand tightly. ~Eleanor will be just fine. I won't let anything happen to her. If I have to make it where she's the only one that survives this damn ship, then by God I will make that happen!~

As the siren continued, Jack lifted his head up carefully through the hole and glanced around before his eyes caught sight of a form only a few inches away from him.

"Gah!"

Ripley gave off her own cry as Jack fell off of the ladder and back down to her. She grabbed her fun and fired a flame off into the hole above them, trying to hit the creature that had caught Jack off-guard.

"God, don't kill me!" A voice cried down.

Ripley's eyes widened. "Riley?"

Her sister's head was then placed over the hole. "Yo."

Jack gave a sigh and sat back up. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Hiding. Running. Trying not to piss myself." The woman replied as they crawled up the ladder to join her. Ripley pulled her sister into a death-grip.

"How did you get away?" Jack asked her.

"I whacked the fucker with one of the coolant bottles then grabbed some and hauled ass." Riley answered, nodding her head towards the four bottles at Jones' cage. "I'm shocked that it didn't grab ahold of me. I…I should be…" She closed her eyes.

"Glad you're safe, Anora," Jack told the woman as Ripley finally let her sister go.

"So am I," She nodded. "Now let's get the hell out of here!"

"I agree to that one," Jack grabbed the coolant bottles and Riley took the cat, leaving Ripley to lead the way to the shuttle with the flamethrower. "I claim a hell of a drink when we arrive back on Earth." Both the women happily agreed on that.

_"__THE OPTION TO OVERRIDE AUTOMATIC DETONATION EXPIRES IN T-MINUS THREE MINUTES." _

"God, ten minutes isn't very long, is it?" Riley grunted as Ripley shifted her way towards the corner of the hall. She narrowed her eyes when Ripley whipped her head back from the corner and motioned for them to be silent. The Alien must have been right around the corner.

Fear pounded into Riley's body. It was the coolant room all over again. She began to slide backwards as fast and unnoticed as she could. Jack and Ripley followed her as she moved back down the hall. She moved down the opposite hall though, leaving the other two to continue following.

"Maybe we should go back and shut down the detonation system." Ripley commented.

"No," Jack shook his head. "There would be no point to that. We wouldn't make it back in time."

"Is there another way to the shuttle?" Riley asked.

"No," Ripley shook her head. "The only way there is the way we came."

"Then it looks like we're heading back then, doesn't it?" Jack replied. "Here," He switched Ripley the gun for the coolant tubes and motioned for the women to stay behind him as he led the way back down the hall as the alarm continued to buzz overhead. He felt like he was about to piss himself, but he would do all that he could to that Alien in order to get his wife and her sister aboard the shuttle safely. Even if that mean himself dying to keep them safe.

"It's not here anymore." Riley's voice held a tone of relief as they paused in the hall for a moment.

"It must have ran off somewhere else, then." Ripley agreed with a nod.

"Good. Riley, go and get the damn shuttle moving." Jack told the woman. "the two of us are right behind you."

Understanding what he wanted, Riley gave a nod and took off with Jones and his cage still in her hands.

Ripley paused for a moment, glancing at her husband as they made their own way, a bit slower, towards the shuttle. "What do we do now?"

"We're going to get on that shuttle, get the hell out of there, and beat the shit out of our bosses for what they did to us. And then we're gonna go home, get our little girl back, drink, and have sex like fucking wild animals while me make our second child, you got that?"

Ripley, despite the situation, gave a huge laugh at the man beside her. "I got that."

_"__YOU NOW HAT ONE MINUTE TO ABANDON SHIP."_

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you!" Riley grunted as she dropped down into the chair before the control desk.

_"__THE SHIP WILL AUTOMATICALLY DESTRUCT IN T-MINUS ONE MINUTE."_

"Shut up!" Riley hissed and she flipped the switches. She head the door to the shuttle shut behind her and glanced at her sister from the corner of her eyes as the other woman took a seat in the chair beside her; Jack sat behind her. Pressing the last button, The three of them pulled the straps to the chairs on. Ripley reached back with her hand and Jack grabbed it, giving it a tight squeeze.

_"__T-MINUS THIRTY SECONDS…TWNEY-NINE, TWENTY-EIGHT,"_

As the countdown began, Riley closed her eyes as hard as she could. Memories of the members of this ship flashed through her mind over all that they had gone through before this happened. Parker. Ash. Lambert. Kane. Brett. Dallas…She felt the tears rise up in her eyes but she held them back. She would have died too…she should have…

Riley had lied when she told Jack and her sister that she whacked the Alien with the coolant tube. She hadn't done a thing. The alien had just stared at her for a moment before whipping around and leaving her standing there. She didn't know why, but she didn't stand there for too long to wonder about it. She must have gone down a different hall than the two of them, seeming as how they didn't run into each other again until she found the cat.

Nostromo's destruction sent an enormous power surge through the area, making the shuttle shake as the light blinded them all, despite them being far enough away not to get involved in the explosion. All of them squeezed their eyes shut, not wanting to go blind as the explosion continued. Sweat poured down Riley's face as she slapped her hands over them, wiping it away before pulling her hair back and up off of her neck.

"I got you…" Ripley's voice sounded through the shuttle. "You son of a bitch."

Jack slapped a hand over his own eyes before settling back in his chair, giving out a few laughs of relief.

The cry of the cat beside her made Riley remember that Jones was there and she let him out of his cage. The cat jumped up into her lap, rubbing his head against his owner's face as the woman clung to him.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Jack asked, standing up from the chair as he looked at the two stasis beds.

"Simple," Riley answered him, standing herself as she clung to her cat. "Jonesy and I sleep in one, and you and Ripley will just have to suffer being on top of each other."

"Honey, that's not suffering." Jack gave his wife a wink. Ripley whacked him as she let a blush fly across her face.

"Ugh, at least wait until I'm set into sleep, will you?" Riley turned away. "Let me change and I'll go to sleep and then the two of you can have your fun before joining me, all right?"

"Deal." Jack nodded, this time dodging his wife's attack.

Riley rolled her eyes as Jack turned his back to her so she could strip appropriately to her underclothes. "Now you two don't take too long, you hear?" She told them, pulling her black shirt down as far as it could go. "I don't want to wake back up to find this place covered in things I don't want to know about."

"All right, all right," Ripley shook her head as she took the cat so her sister could lie down in the stasis pod. She paused for a moment, staring at her sister with a small smile on her face. "I'm glad that you're still here, Anora."

Riley was silent for a moment before reaching out and grabbing her sister's hand. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me following you, no matter what you do, understand?"

Ripley leaned down and kissed her sister's forehead. "Yeah."

Setting the cat inside on her sister, she turned as the lid closed and closed her eyes. It was over. It was all finally-

"You ready?"

She glanced over her shoulder as Jack's arms wrapped around her from behind. She almost choked when she realized that he was already stripped to his boxers. "You're not really thinking about doing this with her right there, are you?"

Jack gave a smile. "Though it would be interesting, the only thing that my wife needs now is a good sleep. Besides, we have all the time we need to take care of that when we get back home."

Ripley turned in his arms and gave him a kiss. "You don't have to have any doubt in that."

The married couple then went into the kissing war until Jack shoved his wife against the control table towards the wall. They were starting to get quite passionate until a hand reached out towards them. Jack pulled his wife back, both of them letting out a cry as they stared at what had joined them on the ship.

The alien had hidden itself between the tubing of the shuttle.

"How in the fuck-" Ripley slapped her hand over Jack's mouth before dragging him back with her towards the closet where the suits are, shutting the door behind them. "No wonder it wasn't in the hall!" He growled, glancing out the window again. They could see the Alien still sitting there in the tubing, moving around a bit and making itself comfortable.

"I have to get it off the ship."

"What?" Jack looked at her. "You're not going out there."

"I have a plan!" Ripley told him. "If I can open the hatch, then we can get rid of it!"

"It's too dangerous, Eleanor, let me do it. You stay in here." Jack told her.

"Do you know how to operate the controls?" Jack bit his lip and glanced away. "I'll be fine. Besides, I know if something happens, you'll be there to save me, right?"

Jack gave her a smile. "You damn right." He glanced behind them at the spacesuit. "Here, get in this. Just in case."

Jack felt so weak and useless as his wife slid into the suit and then outside towards the control board and strapped herself into the seat. If anything, anything like this ever happened again, he was going to be the one to kick some ass, not his wife. He would keep her safe, no matter what.

Ripley's heart was pounding in her ears and as she moved, she began to hum a little song to herself to keep calm.

"You…are…My Lucky Star. You…are…My Lucky Star. You. Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky. Ok," She reached out to the controls and began to work as she continued to sing. The Alien began to screech as the steam hit it, her singing got louder as the Alien pulled itself free of the tubes and began to crawl across the floor. Ripley turned her back to it and gave out a scream as it appeared behind her. Slamming down on the switch and snapping open the hatch door. It caught ahold of the edges though, and hung on…until Ripley fired a grappling hook at it, shooting it out.

Jack didn't see what happened next, due to being locked in the closet, but Ripley slammed on another switch to fire up the shuttle engines. As his wife slumped to her knees. Jack rushed out to her side, ripping the helmet off of her head. "Ripley! You did it! You did it!" Ripley collapsed in his arms, tears soaking into his shoulder. He held her to him tightly, letting her use him as a support beam.

**_"_****_Final report of the commercial starship Nostromo, third officer reporting. The other members of the crew, Kane, Lambert, Parker, Brett…Ash…and Captain Dallas are dead. Cargo and ship destroyed. The three of us should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up. This is Ripley…one of the last trio of survivors of the Nostromo…signing off."_**


	6. Next

p style="text-align: center;"strongFor those that have been waiting: The Sequel has begun./strong/p


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